Touch Me Not
by vixen16
Summary: The story had just reached its climax and i really need the reviews!!!!Plase guys, help me with it.A Rukawa X OC fic.Anonymous reviews are welcome....R and R...I'll be expecting it.^_^
1. Prologue

Author's note:Okay so, I finally got to post this fic which stood by for more or less two weeks because of the tech probs in the site.Kindly review. Dedicated to my friends who were the first ones to actually post their works here and to Icez Bluez. 

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply but I do own Inari Kyoko and Hikama Kaoru.^_^  
  
Prologue

Alienated----that's exactly how Inari kyoko, a freshman at Shohoku High School felt.It seems like a two-week familiarity stage with her new school and schoolmates still isn't enough to make her comfortable.  
  
"Ohayo , Kyoko-chan!"a female classmate greeted from her back as she walked to her classroom. "Uh.hai.ohayo."she greeted back lifelessly, barely reaching her classmate's ears. Her classmate then caught up with her and walk by her side. 

"You don't seem too friendly really."

"…"Kyoko did not answer at that . 

"Ah. well. anyway. "Kaoru Hikama was somehow alarmed that Kyoko was offended by what she said so she dismissed the subject. 

"Are you a member of any varsity team yet?Huh,Kyoko-chan?"

"I don't have plans of doing so."Kyoko answered bluntly. 

"Why? Is it your schedule? "Kaoru asked as they entered the room. She put her things beside Kyoko's and she could have sworn she saw a shock of some sort in Kyoko's eyes. 

"Duh? I'm your seatmate. "She said as she rolled her eyes' 

"I know." 

"You do not."

"Okay.you won.I don't know you and I didn't ever notice that you were my seatmate.Mind giving me your name?"she said with a sigh. 

"Hikama Kaoru,I'm from Tomigaoka High School."

"Pleased to meet you." Kyoko said briefly feeling as if she needs not anymore to introduce herself to her persistent and talkative seatmate.

"Pleased to meet you.*ack*"Kaoru mimicked Kyoko then stuck her tongue out as if she's going to puke at such an emotionless greeting.

"A little hand shake or at the very least, a smile would certainly be appreciated." Kaoru rolled her eyes again. 

"…"

"Didn't you ever learn to smile?!" 

"Huh? "Kyoko raised her head from the book she just brought out. 

"Sheeesh… never mind. "Kaoru waved her hand to dismiss the subject. There was long silence between the two after that. Kyoko continued reading while raising her eyeglasses with her forefinger and her middle finger (sort of a mannerism ) once in a while while Kaoru just sat there and fixed her hazel eyes on Kyoko's blank face.After a while, the latter noticed it and because of the feeling of being someone's center of attention, her cheeks slowly reddened. 

"Stop that. Don't stare at me." Kaoru laughed. So loud, it hurted her ears. 

"What?!" 

"Now I know why you don't want to join any varsity tem."

"…"

"You're too shy to be in front of an audience." 

"How did you know?"

"I just stared at you and you looked like a ripe tomato. You're the type of person who wants to be gobbled up by the earth on a single mistake." 

"How can you be so sure?"Kyoko turned a page of the book that she was reading then raised her glasses again with her two fingers. 

"Well. I've read it in a psychology book and I 'test' people if they're shy especially if I want to befriend them so that if they are, I'll have my ways of making them open up."

"It's not that. "She closed the book that she was reading and for the very first time fixed her dull, blue eyes to Kaoru's hazel ones. 

"What is it then ?"Kaoru disappointedly breathed out because she was wrong about the 'psychology thing'

"Listen closely."Kyoko, more serious than ever, put down her book and continued.

".I have a congenital disorder. My aerial passages are abnormally narrow since birth and I can't breathe in as much oxygen as a normal person can. That's why I have been restricted to do any kind of intense physical activity which would make my body use more oxygen than I can take in or my brain would black out." Kyoko blurted it out in one, strong blow because she never ever want to say it again. It's her biggest frustration in life---to be as physically active as everyone else. Kaoru blinked several times disbelievingly. 

"Jeez. now you tell me that. "Kyoko saw pity in Kaoru's eyes and she hated it. 

"…"She gave her a _'Now what?/Why should you care?_' look ,waved her hand once to cut off Kaoru's pitiful stare and started reading the book again bringing it up, right in front of her face to cover it. 

"What about Phys Ed? Are you going to drop it?"

"Yeah. Sort of." 

"What do you mean 'sort of'? "Kaoru pulled the book away from Kyoko to force her to face her. 

"Give that back!" totally vexed, Kyoko tried to get the book back but Kaoru kept it behind her back, out of Kyoko's reach. 

"Answer my question first."

Kaoru tucked a tendril of her brown hair at the back of her ear as she grinned. 

"Why are you SO interested on me? I'm a dull and boring person y'know." A brow raised when Kyoko said that. Instead of answering, Kaoru smiled then stuck her tongue out. A nerve almost popped out of Kyoko's head but she immediately gained composure and sighed.

"Okay. I'm not going to participate in any Phys Ed activity but I have been given a medical training the whole week last week to be a health attendant on a varsity team."

"Which one? Which one? Which one? "The brown-haired quivered with delight and her eyes glistened as if she's a little child in front of a huge variety of ice cream, wanting to have everything she could see. 

"I don't know just yet. Maybe they'll tell me this afternoon ."Kyoko grabbed the book immediately as Kaoru slowly put it out from her back.

"I'll come with you."

"Why the hell would you?"

"So I would know which varsity team you are going to work with,.of course."

"What's with the varsity team anyway?" 

"It's just that.my onee-san is the captain of the volleyball team and I want you to be in the same team.

"She always wants to brag about her sister's spectacular plays.

"I see." The raven-haired kept the book when she noticed the time and the bell is going to ring soon.Kaoru stared at her with such questioning eyes.

"Hn.What now?"

"Can I eat lunch with you?"

"Sure."

"Do you like me?" Kaoru's lashes fluttered.

"Well. considering your very jolly personality, I guess I do." 

"Are we friends now?" Kaoru pouted making her look so childishly cute which made Kyoko smile. even chuckle. 

"What do you think?"

"I'll take that smile as a yes. And let me tell you, you have a cute smile, you should do that more often." Kaoru smiled back and that afternoon, she and her new 'cold-blooded' friend went to the Students' Affairs office. 


	2. Welcome To the Team

Author's note: Thanks so much for those who reviewed the first part!!!! Ilove you guys mwah! I'm sorry if it took me long to post this one. My schedule is really hectic guys, I swear. Am not making an excuse. I beg you to review this one. Onegai….

****

WELCOME TO THE TEAM

"Let's see here…Inari Kyoko…" a second year student-assistant at the office scanned through a document on a clipboard that was suspended on her waist, her forefinger running through the surface of the paper. Kyoko and Kaoru stood in front of her not wanting to miss a single thing that their 'sempai' is saying.

"Oh here. Inari Kyoko, 1st year , section 5 assigned to…" There were imaginary drum rolls in the freshmen's minds.

__

Volleyball team…volleyball team…Kaoru prayed acting more excited and interested than the one actually involved.

__

Anything but the men's team…don't wanna be a medical slave running around to attend to a bunch of injured jerks Yeah. Those rash and pushy jerks.

"…the men's basketball club." Within a few moments, the freshmen froze.

"Why there?!!" Kyoko and Kaoru said at the same time. Their faces drooped down in disappointment.

"I don't know…well, maybe it's because according to your records, you've always liked basketball and maybe the counsel thought you'd want to be in that particular sport so they---" the older one was cut off.

"Can we make an appeal?" Kyoko, worrying her head off asked.

"I think so. See if you can find someone in there." Their sempai brought them to another office.

"Arigato sempai." Without even knocking, Kyoko dragged her friend in the door which she already had opened without permission. The person behind the door almost jumped off her seat with shock.

" Uh…Konnichi wa sensei. Sorry for barging in. I want to make an appeal about---" the words fired out of Kyoko's mouth like bullets from a gettling gun.

" Kindly slow down dear…" sipping a cup of tea, the flabby, female teacher tried to cut her off.

"But teacher…"

"Shhhh…"the teacher silenced her again.

"…sit down first, calm down and tell me your problem and we'd do something about it." Kyoko and Kaoru did what the teacher said.

"Noe ehat is it?"

"I am one of those students trained to be health attendants on varsity teams and I didn't like the team where I was assigned."

"Your name?"

"Inari Kyoko."The flabby woman drew out a folder from a drawer and scanned through it like what their sempai did.

"Oooohh…men's basketball club."

"Do you think you can assign me somewhere else?"

"I'm sorry Inari-dono. There are already no slots available. Each varsity team has an attendant."

"Please, sensei! She has to be in the volleyball team!" Kaoru begged.

"Somebody else had been assigned to that team."

"But maam…"

"I'm sorry. If I remember it right, the manager of the team chose you herself."

"The team manager?"

"Ayako-sempai…" Kaoru whispered, remembering the name of the person to be blamed.

__

So…Ayako…Ayako is her name.To hell with her.Kyoko cursed under her breath.

"I can't just take you out of the team without a valid reason." The flabs of fat of the teacher flapped as she rose to put her teacup away.

"I have a reason ! As you know, I have this congenital disorder and I can't be running around attending to a number of those jerks at the same time who are too violent."

"We'll see about that. If you'd be patient enough to be in the team for a week and you went along with them just fine, you'd stay but if something goes wrong, I'd ask for an alternative on what you can do to be exempted in your Phys Ed. Is that fine with you Inari-dono?" the sensei, once in a while turning her swivel chair by a few degrees leaned forward and rested her elbows at the edge of the table and her green eyes fixed at Kyoko's blue ones.

Kyoko realized that it was not a bad decision after all. A week would be just enough for her to get to know the club members and if they're total jerks like what she thinks they are, she'd leave.

"Yes ma'am. Thanks."

"You'd start next week. Their trainings are held everyday at I think 3:00. The manager is requiring you to bring a training outfit." The oldie's bangs of her chestnut hair somehow reached her eyes making her blink several times because of the irritation.

"Yes. Thanks. I should take my leave now." Kyoko rose and just when she's about to leave, she remembered that she was with Kaoru. She asked her sensei where her friend is and there she was at one corner of the office on a black swivel chair, head bowed and pecefully sleeping

A week after, the friends were on their way to the gym with the brown-haired caressing her swollen cheek and the 'cold-blooded' one nervously twisting and entwining her fingers.

"Stop over reacting okay? The guys here are not that bad. Some of them might be trouble-makers and gangsters but I can give you the assurance that they have respect for women." Kyoko stared blankly at her and realized that she had a point. The only way that she can judge whether they're jerks or not is to get to know them. She grabbed Kao-chan's hand, which is in contact with her face and lowered it to her friend's side.

"Don't do that again. Your constant movement makes me more uneasy."

"Yeah. Like who do you think gave me this swollen cheek?" she pressed a forefinger on the cheek.

"…" Kyo's brows furrowed.

"You did baka! You keep pinching me this past few days and I do not know what the hell has gotten into you. Maybe…maybe you're pregnant!" she grinned devilishly.

"What?!"

"You know..pregnant women have this tendency to have sudden interest on cute things…"stated Kaoru matter-of-factly, smiling as she referred to herself as cute.

"Of course not! I just thought you're getting chubbier. You're blowing up an inch in diameter per day…" Kyo's eyes widened as she covered her mouth and inwardly scolded herself for being tactless.Kaoru was enraged. Her eyes flared with anger and nerves popped out of her forehead.

"Do you know just what you said means?!? I'm going to tickle you to death! How dare you talk to me like that! Just because you're slim and tall doesn't mean you can do that ! Hehehe…" her fingers motioned readying herself for the tickle fight. Kyoko was taken aback. Her muscles become tense when she's tickled and she finds it really hard to breathe.

Just before Kaoru made her attack, two figures appeared behind them.

"Hello! If I'm not mistaken you're Inari Kyoko, our team's health attendant." A girl in a plain white shirt and cycling shorts and a timer around her neck and a cap on her head greeted.

"Hai.I'm on my way to the gym now." _ Thanks for saving me from the deadly tickles._

"I'm Ayako, the team manager and also the one who chose your name and this tall guy is a freshman like you. Go ahead. Introduce yourself." She hit her with an elbow.

"Rukawa Kaede 1st year section 10." Kyoko was more or less insulted bu the too formal introduction so she introduced herself in the same way.

"Inari Kyoko, 1st year section 5." She offered her hand for a shake but the icy blue eyes merely stared at it.

"Ahahaha…Rukawa-kun give me my things." It was then that Kyoko noticed that the tall guy was carrying two duffel bags, one on each shoulder and if he extends his hand, he'd lose balance and one of the bags would fall.

"Now you can give her a shake. It's very rude to reject a lady's greeting." Ayako left the bag at the floor because it's too heavy for her to carry. That's actually why Rukawa volunteered to carry it for her.

After they shook hands, Kyoko's attention went back to her friend whom she wanted also to introduce to their sempai and the tall guy but she's motionless and is blushing so hard.She wondered why but decided to introduce her herself.

"This is Kaoru, my classmate."

"Yeah! I know you. You're sister is the captain of the volleyball tem right? And you're from Tomigaoka as well like the both of us and I think you'd been Rukawa's classmate right?" the curly-haired girl turned to Rukawa for a confirmation on what she said but he doesn't seem to remember nor care.

"Yes. We've been uh… classmates twice in grade school and um…t-twice in junior high…yeah. Thet's right." Kaoru stuttered as she noticed the icy blue eyes fixed on her. Meanwhile, Kyoko was inwardly cursing Rukawa for not even saying a brief 'hi' or 'hello' to her friend whom he knew longer than she did.

"I think we should go there now so we'd have the time for you to get to know the team." Ayako glanced at her watch.

"Hai. Bye Kao-chan." She pinched her cheek but she didn't seem to mind .She's busy trying not to blush.

"Bye Kyo and goodluck." With that, she turned and half-ran half-walked away.

In the gym, only the team captain and the co-captain was there yet. Ayako introduced her to them and she thought they're nice and had a very brotherly appeal on her.

As they waited for the other players, Ayako gave her things that she would need while Rukawa was there near them warming himself up.

" Here is the medical kit but let me tell you…I didn't use that much. These guys can take care of themselves." She merely nodded but a part of her is disagreeing._If they can take care of themselves and they're not hurt often, why would you need a health attendant?_

"And here are some other things you'll need. As the queen…I mean princess because I'm the queen of this team, here is your crown, your emerald necklace and most importantly, your scepter." Ayako put a cap on her head, a timer around her neck and a paper fan.Both Kyoko and Rukawa sweatdropped.

"What ami I going to need these for?"

"Well, since you wouldn't be doing much as a health attendant, Ive decided to give yo an extra assignment. Fine with you?"

"Okay but I don't think I would need the paper fan."

"You would because I'm also assigning you to be the personal trainer of a red-headed guy who doesn't know anything about basketball yet calls himself a genius…"

"You mean him…"Kyoko pointed to someone bahind Ayako who is now narrow-eyed. Ayako turned and was shocked.

"Yeah…haha…this is the genius that I was talking about.He knew nothing about basketball yet he plays so well…." The manager suddenly denied what she was saying.

The _he plays so well _ line made Rukawa's face tunrf blue with disgust.

"If he's a genius, then I wouldn't need a paper fan to hit his head right Mr. Genius?" She gave him one of those narrow smiles and had an impression that she'd get along with him well. She has this thing for humorous people like Kaoru and this guy.

"Oh. Yes you wouldn't.I'm a genius Nyahahahaha!!" he boasted and laughed with his hands on his waist.

"Start warming up do'aho…" Rukawa gave him a hit in the head.

"Grrrr….baka kitsune! A genius needs no warm up!" Just when they were going to start a fight, Kyoko interrupted.

"Sakuragi-tensai, Ayako-sempai told me to teach you the basics first. I'm afraid you'd have to stay here with me. But because you're a genius, maybe a few minutes would be enough and you could join them later." Kyoko smiled at him again to calm him down.

"You hear that kitsune? She called me genius, nyahahahaha!" Rukawa gave her a sharp look so did she trying to piss him off._You don't have a right to call him do'aho,I think Sakuragi's batter than you are. _She thought.

The rest of the team was introduced to her before the practice started and they're not bad at all but that Rukawa guy is getting on her nerves.


	3. The Angel, The Jerk and the Love Letter

**Author's note**: Sorry for keeping this fic stagnant for so long…..really really sorry.Promise I won't do it again. Finally uploaded! Very heartfully dedicated to Nayami Shizukana who drew Kyoko for me.Arigato!

 WARNING: This chapter is definitely longer than the others. Sheeesh… Be patient with reading it ^_^

**Aga_xris:** Yeah…well, I think she just might have one before this fic ends…

**Icez Bluez: **Thanks for finally uploading your fic! Loved the chapter and thanx a lot for your reviews to this fic.

**To everyone:**Watch out for the next fic which is going to be about Sendo. Death, violence and sex are going to be involved and I'm not having plans of being a soap-opera writer but there's going to be hard core drama as well…

**Disclaimer:** Standard Disclaimer applies.

Chapter 3 : The angel, the jerk and the love letter 

Kyoko decided to stay with the team for good.After thinking it over, she thinks it's not really a big deal having a dispute with an ace player anyway. And besides, she doesn't want to trouble the flabby counselor with her simple uncomfortability problems anymore.Everything was going smoothly for the team, as she observed it especially Sakuragi who was amazed with his improvements since Kyoko came in and trained him.Everyone is always in high spirits and they volunteered to stay two hours later than usual to practice some more to beat Kainan which makes Kyoko also stay late but it didn't really bother her that much because Sashi-kun (her pet name to Mitsui whom she had a crush on) walks her home every night.She gets to be with her friend not so often now though so she makes it a point that Kaoru tells her everything that she misses and she does too.Everything except her close encounters with the anemic kind ( Rukawa, who else) because she knows how offensive that would be to Rukawa's long-time admirer.During their vacant hour, Kao and Kyo goes to their favorite spot in the school, the rooftop.
    
    "Gori and Kimi-chan are really nice and brotherly…"Kyoko referred to Akagi and Kogure.She was talking to Kaoru who was leaning against the rails.She was too facing the opposite direction, watching her classmates play soccer on the grounds.

"And Sashi-kun's kind enough to walk me home every night.I don't think he'd been a gangster once in his life at all…"Kaoru looked at the blue-eyed as if analyzing her.

"Hn.You're saying that because you like him.He's your crush.That's normal."She was just trying to piss Kyoko off because she rarely praises or admires anyone.

" Anyone who knows him would say what I just did." Her eyes narrowed with Kaoru's unreasonable cynicism.

"Fine. How about the cute guy who is Ayako-sempai's suitor?"

"He's cool but I really don't like it when he calls me little missy or honey bun or sweet chic whatsoever…" such nicknames bring cringes to Kyoko's face which made Kaoru laugh which now made Kyo's face crumple.

"Quit it."

"Hahaha….okay."

"How about you? How's it going?"With that, Kaoru remembered something that she thought would interest her friend.

"Is something about my crush interesting enough?"

_Actually no._But something struck Kyoko._If I'm not going to listen to what she has to say about Rukawa now, the he wouldn't have anyone else to talk to about it.All of her other girlfriends are die-hard Rukawa fansand man, they're selfish._She remembered what happened to those group of friends who broke up because of Rukawa rivalry.

"Whatabout him?" She can see excitement from her friend's eyes even if she can see only a side of her face.Whan suddenly, the gleam of excitement faded and she turned red as if she had been slapped for about a hundred times.Kyo remembered seeing her like that when she saw Rukawa at the gym.She turned and she was right.

There he was, from the stairs,staring at them as if not expecting them to be there.

_What in the name of nine hells are you doing here?_Rukawa wasn't talking but his eyes questioned.

_You don't own this place do you?_Kyoko glared back.Her ocean blue eyes being all sarcastic and insulting.She was rather surprised that Rukawa turned away.She thought he would be game for telepathic games like such.Whan he was out of sight,Kaoru was still STILL.Kyoko hit her side with her elbow to get her back to her senses.

"Have you told him yet?"

"Hn?" She had no idea of what Kyoko said at all.

"I said,have you told him about the way you felt or at least do something to make him know you?"

"No."

"Why?Amazing how you can keep it to yourself for that long."She wasn't expecting the answer.Compared to other girls who'd probably sell their souls to hall just to be with Rukawa,her friend knew him for the longest time yet she's the only one who hasn't given up on her woman's pride yet.

"Have you?" Two words which came from nowhere sprung out of Kaoru's mouth.

"Have I what?"

"Have you told Mitsui-sempai that you like him?"Kyoko knew that Kaoru was trying to justify her being unexpresseve.

"No,I haven't and I wouldn't have to because being someone's friend means you like him or her and in our case, we're close friends."

"So, what you're trying to say is,I'm never going to be Rukawa's friend because he doesn't like me…"Kaoru sounded insane.She's taking things the wrong way.She's losing self-esteem and trust in her friend.

"What are you talking about?You're taking it the wrong way…Kao-chan believe me, you're not the problem here.It's him.He's the one who never said a word to you, the one who didn't recognize you though you've been with him for almost his entire life.You've been his schoolmate,his classmate and even his seatmate yet---"Kyoko who was now becoming intense was cut off.

"It wasn't his fault that he didn't recognize me.It's because I'm a nobody.I was never important to anyone…"tears unintendedly rolled down her cheeks.Kyoko inwardly scolded herself for making Kaoru cry by bringing up the subject.She heard it from Kaoru herself before.Her family gives more credit to her older sister.No one knows why.

_Oh no.This could be darn serious…she's in love…in love with the jerk…_

The raven-haired rose ad faced her friend, took her hand and enveloped them with hers.

"How can you say that? Have you forgotten about your friend here who thinks you're more important that anyone else in the world and who loves you with all her heart and is willing to help you with any sort of problem you have?"Kyo's eyes were filled with kindness and concern for her friend.Kaoru knows that she wants to cry with her but Kyo is good at hiding her emotions.

"Thanks,Kyo-chan…..:she tried to speak in between her sobs and gave her bestfriend a warm hug.

"Ah, sure no prob.Dry up will you?You don't want our classmates to see you with swollen eyes right?"Kyoko pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed it onto the other's eyes .

"Thanks again."

"I have an idea"

"About?"

"About your being unexpressive with your feelings about Rukawa."

"*Ack* Don't mind Kyo.It's not that serious."

"What do you mean 'it's not that serious'?Of course it is!! You're in love Kao-chan , deeply in love and if you wouldn't tell him now, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!"Kyoko saw the gloom come back to her friend's hazel eyes that she just loved to see glistening with joy.

"It wouldn't work out…" the too many rivals that she would mess up with came to Kaoru's mind.

"It wouldn't if you don't try!Come on,I'm trying to help you out .All you'd have to do is write it all down on a letter and I'll take care of the rest."She's demanding.The other is being so pessimistic about things and she'll prove to her that she deserves Rukawa's love and attention more than anyone else.

"Okay."The word came out with a sigh but Kaoru's really thankful for her friend's concern.

_I awe you this.Thanks a lot.You said I'm more important to you than anyone else.Same here.You're my angel._
    
    Three days after,Kaoru gave Kyoko the letter which contained everything that she have not dared to say.

"Are you sure everything is in here?" Kyoko received the letter.

"Hai." 

"Where's your name?"

"Inside the flap.Do you want to read it?"

"Oh.No.This is a personal thing.Thanks anyway."

Both Kyoko and Kaoru were happy that day.Kyoko because she can see Kaoru really happy and Kaoru because of her thankfulness to her friend who helped her with her unspoken love which had been in her for years.As usual,Kyoko and Sakuragi went to the gym together because their classrooms are beside each other.Even Sakursgi noticed the unusual glow on Kyoko's face.

"Oi! Kyoko-dono, what's with you?"

"None of your business…"

"Are you planning to confess your love to me today?Huh?!Huh?!"Sakuragi grinned sheepishly.

""Baka…"Kyoko chuckled.On their way to the gym, they happened to pass by Mitsui.

"Konnichi wa!" Mitsui swished his duffel bag to carry it on his back.

" Hi Sashi-kun!"Kyoko waved.

"Kyo-chan, you look great today!"

"As always Sashi-kun…"

"No.Seriously, what's with you? Are you willing to share it with us?"

"NO."

_Women are unpredictable._Both Mitsui and Sakuragi shrugged.

In the gym, everyone was early except Rukawa who they assumed was again at the rooftop, sleeping.Thirty minutes after they've started,Rukawa rubbed his eyes wearily obviously disturbed from his ever peaceful trip to dreamland.

"Rukawa Kaede, konnichi wa!"Everyone turned with Kyoko's greeting which was never heard before. In fact she had not greeted Rukawa even once since they met.

"Hai.Konnichi wa…"He greeted in his deep,low-tone voice trying to sound as appreciative as he can,.That was when his ever-loyal cheerleaders came in with fury in their eyes and envy for the greeting that Kyo received.

_Wrong timing.Maybe I should wait for those girls to keep distance before I could give this to him._
    
    During the rest of the practice,Kyoko kept cheering for Mitsui, Sakuregi, Yasuda, Rukawa and Kogure's team while she kept pissing Miyagi off who was on the other team.

"GO. Ryo-chin!!!Don't let their height scare 'ya!"

"What do you mean 'don't let their height scare me ?Huh?"Ryota was clenching his fists and gritting his teeth.Mitsui held him back.

"Come on, I don't mean anything bad….hey,nice hair!I'm gonna bet you use a bucketful of hair gel for that…." Kyoko ruffled Miyagi's hair and patted his head.

"Grrrrr….get offa my hair!!!" Miyagi's mouth snapped a couple of times like an alligator's. His prey, Kyoko's arm .Thanks to Mitsui,Kyoko's arm was out of his reach.

"I never knew too much hair gel could make a guy irritable.Lessen it up man!" Everyone laughed except Rukawa and Kyo.

_Like duh?!That wasn't supposed to be a joke!_ Kyoko thought, surprised with how the others reacted to her supposedly serious comment.

The game proceeded and it reached its climax. Kogure and Mitsui's team are leading by nothing more than 2 points and there is less than a minute more to play before the game ends.Mitsui has the ball which was passed to him by Yasuda and aimed for a 3 point shot with his perfect shooting posture.It would surely make it to the goal had it not been flyswatted by Gori.The rebound goes to Rukawa who wasn't able to make a good landing because of the weird feeling that suddenly got crawling up to the muscles of his left leg sending him crashing to the ground. Butt first. Pain slowly rushed up his spine which sent him groaning. His cheerleaders and Ayako gasped in horror and the team manager helped Miyagi bring him to the bench where Kyoko set up her medical kit.

"What's wrong ?Are you okay?"

"I'm fine but my lower leg is numb and I can't move it …"

"Maybe it's just cramped." Kyoko pulled out a pain killer from her medical box and gave it to Rukawa.

"Massage it unto your leg." Rukawa poured a palmful amount of the menthol and rubbed it onto his leg with great pressure.He wanted so much to go back to the game and if it was just cramps, he'd be fine within a few minutes.

"You're doing it the wrong way…you should lighten it up a little. Too much pressure would make the muscle more stressed out." But Rukawa didn't seem to hear.

"Okay, I'll do it."

_Sheeeesh…I'm being too nice to him today…_Kayoko thought as she snatched the bottle of menthol and put some on her hands,rubbed them together and gently eased them unto his leg.As soon as her hands came in contact to his leg,she heard shrieks of objection from the shinentai and she could have sworn she heard someone from up there call her bitch but Akagi told her to continue and Kimi-chan went to them and told them to keep quiet.Actually, she wants Kimi-chan to shoo them away like animals.

_Do they actually think I like what I'm doing?_ Disgusted with what she's doing, she asked herself.Whan she's done, she finally got the chance to give Kyo's letter to Rukawa while the cheerleaders are having an argument with Kogure and are not looking at her direction.She took Rukawa's hand and placed it on his palm.Rukawa, knowing what that letter is gave a questioning look.

"Errr…it's from my bestfriend…"Rukawa nodded and slipped it onto his pocket.

"Domo…"

"Read it…it means so much to her."

"Arigato" He stood up, turned away and called on his teammates to continue the game.

_Is that all that he's going to day?It's a love letter and he doesn't even seem to care?_Kyoko was expecting more appreciation than just that.She and her friend had gone through so much to give him that letter.She had been kind to him for that single day and is practically throwing up on it and she was called names and now…this.

_Never mind as long as he's going to read it._
    
    After the practice, when most palyers were gone and Kyoko was looking for Mitsui who would walk with her home, she happened to pass by the locker room.The door was partly open and she thought no one was there so she came to close it when she saw Rukawa at the corner, leaning against the wall reading a letter.

_Good…he's reading it._She just watched there as Rukawa read the letter and after a while, his face started to cringe just like how a cool guy would react to the mushy stuff that a letter contains then shock as she was, he tore the letter and threw it to trash.She was totally enraged like a mad bull but managed o keep quiet.With curses running throygh her head.

_You shithead!You asshole!How could you do such a damn thing to my friend's letter?!Rot in hell you moron. Go to fucking hell and never ever come back!!!_
    
    More curses would have ran through her head if Mitsui did not call her.He knew she's in a bad mood.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing.Just envisioned a shithead being rotten in hell…"
    
    _She's in a bad mood alright…_
    
    So they went home and Kyoko didn't say a word   the whole time.Just glared at the space and at home, 


	4. Delirium

Author's Notes: Nami-chan asked me to explain the congenital disorder that Kyoko has. I don't have any medical basis for that but a doctor told me it's possible that a person's respiratory growth became stagnant ever since they were ten years old and because of that, the body has outgrown the lungs and the person won't be able to take in as much air as a normal 16-year-old could. That's what Kyoko is suffering from. That's all! I actually made that up. I hope it makes sense... 

Warning: This is my first time to write a chapter which contain such and sorry if it's lame. Anyway, this is the sort of turning point in the story. Enjoy reading! 

Disclaimer: The song 'Intimacy' is from the Talk of Corners album of The Corrs. 

Chapter Four: Delirium 

"Were you able to give it to him?" Kaoru asked. Rukawa had just passed by them, reminding her of her letter. 

"Sure did." Kyoko rolled her eyes at the foxy-faced guy without her friend noticing it. 

"Did he say anything?" 

"He said 'domo'." 

With that single word Kyoko saw content in Kao-chan's face. 

_I just hope she's not expecting anything much from that shithead. If she does, it would hurt her real bad. _

Kyoko decided not to tell her best friend about the love letter incident. Not just yet. She has to know first at least why Rukawa did that heinous thing. Was it too mushy? Does he hate Kaoru that much? Or did he reject it because Kyoko was the one who handed it to him? 

And besides, she wants to take revenge for her friend all by herself without anyone going against it. Kao-chan would surely object to anything bad that she's planning to do to Rukawa. He did an evil thing to her and to her friend... He has to know she can do something worse. 

Trainings are getting harder each day. Each one strives to be the best in Kanagawa. Even the benchwarmers are putting in some extra effort for the team's sake. Even Kyoko's work had become more and more demanding each day. She spends extra time training Sakuragi and Ayako had also instructed her to keep track of each player's health at least once a week. It would definitely not be beneficial to have a sick player a few days before or during the game itself. 

During each practice, while the players show off their playing tactics on their practice games, Kyoko formulates strategies for both offense and defense by deriving them from the players' moves. Ayako and Anzai-sensei helps her with it. Sometimes even Gori and Kimi-chan helps out when they're not joining the game. Kyoko has this chance to criticize, modify and reorganize each player's style. The starting members helped out their teammates by sharing their expertise. Mitsui taught them some pointers on making a successful three-pointer shot and techniques on how to be in a perfect shooting position even when guarded. It's not that the other members do not know how but some tips would surely help them out. Miyagi, on the other hand, taught them ways to elude an opponent and effective fakeries. Sakuragi, whose shots are aimed at the backboard, was of course, wasn't allowed to teach his ever-favorite slam dunk though he insisted but Kyoko did tell him to share his high-jumping and fast-running secrets, which he did with added boast. Gori demonstrated some foul-preventing tactics and his ever-famous flyswatter. As for Rukawa, the playing strategies that he taught were highly recommended – by Ayako and Anzai-sensei at least. He gets a lot of criticisms and 'what-if-the-opponent-does-this-and-that' questions with an added hint of sarcasm and cynicism from Kyoko, urging the foxy-faced (and his pride) to justify. 

One hot afternoon, while Rukawa was demonstrating something to his teammates, he got the usual 'very constructive' critical questions again. Maybe because he thought it was too much for a girl to do such a thing to a proud ace player like him, Rukawa was forced to ask. 

"Why not demonstrate? It would be much clearer if they can see the actual movements." His cold voice rang in Kyoko's ears. 

As if on impulse, the blood in her veins wanted to gush out like crazy. Her veins popped out. 

"Are you crazy?! You know why she was exempted from her physical education class don't you? You know that she gets tired easily! What if she blacks out? Huh? Huh!" Sakuragi shouted in great objection. 

Kyoko stood and pushed him back, telling him that it wouldn't tire her out that much. Kyoko raised a brow at Rukawa. _Hn. Try me. _She went to the court and grabbed the ball Miyagi passed her. She could see the 'good luck's written on everyone's faces.  She played offense because Rukawa was going to demonstrate a defensive tactic, which he said, couldn't be eluded by a tall person. Kyoko was relatively tall. She is about 175 cm, a few centimeters taller than Ryota. 

They started. Rukawa blocked with his arms widely spread, as if he was going against a huge bear. Kyoko looked straight into his eyes, not allowing Rukawa to know what her next move would be. He has no idea, she knows. But why is she having this feeling that he can make a successful block? Kyoko tried every offensive move she knows. Turn around, fade away. She ran to a safe distance where she thought she could make a successful toss but Rukawa always makes it impossible to do a shot. __

_Why is this taking so much time?_ She asked herself, getting kind of impatient and irritated. 

Desperate now because she doesn't like the feeling of someone staring straight at her for that long, she did a daring and dangerous drive towards the ring, hoping that a violent attack would break through the defense. She failed. She tripped over Rukawa's foot and her face almost hit the ground. Good thing somebody held her by her waist. The strong arm that had caught her helped her to her feet. She was about to thank the person but she drew the words back quickly because it was Rukawa. As she stood there, looking angrily at him, his arms still at her waist, he gave her a lecture. 

"That attack would either injure the offender or make him prone to fouls." 

_Know it all! _Kyoko slapped Rukawa's arm, which was still unintentionally wrapped around her waist. Rukawa immediately unwound his arm and apologized. Good thing his 'angels' weren't there. Non-members had not been allowed in the gym for the last couple of weeks. If not, Kyoko would have had her hair pulled by those unreasonably jealous girls. Shithead's statement made her angrier than ever. That was too much. She was embarrassed Humiliated. Belittled. Insulted. 

_I would have been able to break through if he did not stick his foot out on purpose. _

She said nothing more. Her feet were heavy as she trudged back to the bench. As she sat down she muttered a barely audible 'you'll be sorry' and inwardly scolded herself for not doing her best. 

"You're really mad at him aren't you?" Ayako whispered, sitting beside her. 

"I am," she said, throwing another sharp glance at Rukawa. If looks could kill, he would have been dead for a long time now. 

"That's just another lover's quarrel. I'm sure you'll get over it. I have this premonition on your relationship with Rukawa and I know you both could go far." The team manager patted her shoulder like an older sister giving a love advice. Kyoko felt the blood rush up to her head. 

"What do you mean relationship with Rukawa and who told you that?!" 

"Nani? Is it supposed to be a secret? I just heard it from Rukawa's girls… Ehehehe…" Ayako laughed nervously, playing it safe with Kyoko's wrath, which was directed to her. Surprisingly, Kyoko settled down after she said that. 

"Why do they say such things about me?" Sighing as she spoke, Kyoko's mood immediately shifted from anger to gloom. Ayako got the hidden message that the gossip wasn't true. 

"They're just jealous. I'm sorry you had to know it from me," Ayako told her comfortingly. 

Kyoko sighed again. She was quiet for the rest of the practice. Ayako felt bad for her so she approached Sakuragi and Mitsui, Kyoko's closest friends, and told them to talk to her. They did and for the first time, Kyoko opened up on the reason why she hates Rukawa. 

"He threw it away like it was just a paper containing his failing exam. I don't believe him. He doesn't know how much that meant to Kaoru…" 

"You know why you're feeling so bad about all of these? It's because you're just as unexpressive as Kaoru. Nothing's wrong with yelling at someone sometimes rather than always scolding yourself and taking the blame. The problem is, you have too much control. Let go a little bit. It's nice to be logical and reasonable but sometimes you should do things emotionally rather than logically," Sashi-kun said after being refreshed by a can of soda. 

Kyoko knew that. Kaoru had said that to her a couple of times. And they're right. She has too much control. Scenes flashed through her head. Rukawa throwing the letter, the girls calling her bad names, bad-mouthing her around the school, then Rukawa humiliating her in front of the whole team just a few moments ago. Kaoru and Mitsui are right. She has to let go. She was practically steaming now with rage and she raised her glasses. Sakuragi, wanting to have an enraged front liner against Rukawa, added up some more fuel to the fire. 

"I knew he wouldn't do anything good. He underestimated you ever since you came into the team…" he said this and that…blahblahblah…against Rukawa. 

"He did?!" Kyoko's blood was almost literally boiling. 

"Yes! What do you want me to do to him?" 

"I don't know… something really humiliating… maybe you can pull down his pants or do something worse…" Kyoko was all fired up. She was possessed by some sort of an evil spirit, a very evil spirit. 

_So… making her loosen up was a bad idea after all… _Mitsui thought as a huge drop of sweat traced down his head. 

"Wonderful…" Sakuragi rubbed his hands together in his eagerness to put the evil plan to work. He placed an arm around Kyoko's shoulder and laughed his usual "Nyahaha" laugh. 

Before they left, Mitsui asked them to wait for him for a couple of minutes because he forgot to give something to Kogure. While waiting, Sakuragi and Kyoko made fun of Rukawa. Just when they were giggling about Rukawa's boar-like snore, which was reenacted by Sakuragi, Rukawa passed by them and Sakuragi walked slowly with him. Kyoko rose to know what Sakuragi's going to do. She gave him a questioning look. 

"Hehe… you did a great job kitsune. I liked that tactic you taught us…" the redhead had a mean grin pasted on his face as he placed an arm over the raven-haired man's shoulder. 

"Get off me do'ahou." Rukawa fanned his hand like something foul smelling got into his nose. 

Sakuragi gave a signal and blinked then suddenly pulled down Rukawa's pants! 

Kyoko was too shocked to move within a few moments. Her mouth gaped open, and then she blushed real hard and quickly turned around. 

_Did I just see his butt? _

_Yes, you did. _The other side of her mind answered. While justifying for herself that she didn't know Sakuragi would do that, Mitsui came. 

"What's with those two?" he asked. 

"Leave them be… Let's go home!" Kyoko dragged Mitsui away and left Rukawa and Sakuragi quarrelling like wild cats. 

When they got out, Kyoko was heaving for breath and her face was so red like meat. Mitsui gave her time to catch her breath while walking then finally asked: 

"You look like you've been raped or you've seen something disgusting…" Sashi-kun's face crumpled a little bit, maybe a signal that he thinks she's overreacting. The thought of herself blushing like she had been roasted made Kyoko pat her cheeks in desperation. She just can't get the thought out of her mind. 

_For goodness' sake! Why his butt of all butts? _

She looked horrible, as if ready to puke. Her face was now blue and her lips had started to lose their color. 

"Oooh… Now I know what happened. It was Rukawa's butt exposure. I'm sure that would be a box office hit if shown to the public, especially on girls." Mitsui grinned at the thought. 

"Gross…" she shook her head wildly. Now it's getting worse. She's having goosebumps. 

"You know… with the way you react, I can diagnose a case of HD…" Sashi-kun said, mimicking a doctor or a nerdy medical maniac. 

"And that means…?" 

"You have a hidden desire for Rukawa," Mitsui said matter-of-factly just like saying 'I love to eat sashimi'. 

"Oh… I s – Whaaaaaatt?!" Kyoko pinched Mitsui's arm really hard, making him yell. 

"How cruel of you to tell me that! You don't really have a little understanding about a woman's feelings do you? You know, when a guy pulls down his pants in front of a girl, it's not him who gets embarrassed, it's the girl!" 

"But when a girl strips in front of a guy…" 

"Then it's either he would enjoy it, or he would not react because you guys are so damn insensitive." Mitsui gagged with Kyoko's words so he shut his mouth and was silent until they reached home. 

_Damn Sakuragi for this. _

She cannot sleep. What would people think when Sakuragi the blabbermouth circulates the news around the school? She called him up earlier that night scolding him for what he had done. Kyoko rolled and turned on her bed. Every position feels so uncomfortable and the weather was unusually humid. She wouldn't have slept if she did not open all her windows halfway. The cold night air drove her to a deep and peaceful sleep. 

***

Kyoko tried to open her heavy lids even halfway. Why does she feel so tired yet so good? She felt as if she was lying on a cluster of white, puffy clouds and she couldn't help being tempted to just lie there and sleep endlessly. The only thing keeping her half-awake is the cold. The cold night air blew against her bare skin. 

_I am… naked? _

As if everything she had asked for came true, something warm wrapped itself around her, but it was definitely not a blanket. Her hand found its way to that something's back, feeling its texture. She felt something akin to… muscles, she guessed. The back was so broad and muscular. 

_Another person… _

A guy to be exact. Kyoko felt too comfortable to even budge. She heard a mellow, relaxing song playing in her ears. 

_Last night before you fell asleep,_

_You whispered to me_

_Was it just a dream?_

_I'm gonna listen to you close_

_'Cause your goodnight kiss felt like a ghost_

_Baby don't move away from me_

_Baby don't pull away_

_Everybody's searching for intimacy_

_Baby come over and lay down next to me…_

Carried away by the song, she put her arm around the man's neck. He then buried his head in the curve of her neck and shoulders and started making light feathery kisses down her throat, making her sigh contentedly. Her hand found its way to his hair and ruffled it a little, twisting and twirling the tendrils around her fingers. His hair smelled of lavender and a hint of citrus, sweet yet so manly. The guy started caressing her lightly, his palm tracing down her curves. His hand ended up sprawled on her belly. She can feel the heaving of the man's chest and the warmth of his breath. The man raised his head to find Kyoko's lips and gave it a warm, sweet and loving kiss. Kyoko responded to the kiss, enjoying it. The man, breathless as he is, kissed the back of Kyoko's ear and blew off a tendril of her black, wavy hair. A sweet smile found its way on her lips. Despite his heavy breathing, the man whispered into Kyoko's ear. 

_"Koibito…?" _

She knew the man that she's with wanted to talk to her yet she didn't dare raise a sleepy lid. 

_"Hmm?" _

_"Aishiteimasu." _He whispered, the sound tickling Kyoko's ear. 

_"I love you too," _she replied as if on impulse. 

The man raised his head again to kiss Kyoko. For unknown reasons, Kyoko suddenly became conscious enough to know that she was just in a dream, making love with someone. She thought of an excuse that it isn't indecent to dream about such things. 

_It's normal to dream about such things in this day and age… _

Then a thought struck her. She had read somewhere that when you dream about such things the person you are with would be your life-long partner. Curiosity strikes and Kyoko suddenly got the urge to know who her life-long partner is going to be. Her eyes slowly opened and the blurred image of a guys very slowly cleared up. Her pretty blue eyes shot wide open upon realizing who the guy is. She was worry-stricken but managed to ask: 

"Rukawa?" 

At least, that was what she was planning on saying. Instead, another word came out. 

"Kaede-kun?" 

The guy fixed his eyes on hers with such love. 

"Hai?" 

Kyoko, now having the creeps all over her body, gasped for breath and tried to push Rukawa off her. 

"Nooooooo!!!" She quickly rose, gasping for air. 

He still haunts her even in her dreams… 


End file.
